Why 'Meet The Press' Could Have Been Confused About The Legality Of The 30-Bullet Magazine

David Gregory of NBC's Meet the Press
is under fire from conservatives for displaying a 30-bullet
magazine on TV because such high-capacity ammunition gear is
illegal in Washington D.C.

Things started looking worse for NBC yesterday
when news emerged that D.C. police were investigating the news
segment at issue.

Moreover, NBC reportedly asked D.C. police specifically if it
could use the magazine, and the cops told the network that the
high-capacity magazine was "not permissible."

But
a report from The New York Times today sheds some light on
why NBC might have been confused about the legality of the
magazine, which Gregory held up while interviewing the NRA's
Wayne LaPierre.

An NBC official contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives to ask if it would be legal for Gregory
to display the magazine on TV without the bullets in it, a
federal official told The Times.

The ATF, which enforces federal laws and not the District's
statutes, told the official it would be legal, according to The
Times.